Winston

It has been quite eventful since our last blog. I will detail the various beach towns tomorrow but I want to bring everyone up to date on Winston. First a heartfelt "Thank-you" to Bastian and Eva - without their help, this would have been much more difficult to take care of. It began on Sunday, May 2nd. We noticed that once again Winston was not getting around very well. He looked as though he was having difficulty controlling his walk. We asked around and found the name of a vet in Hidalgo, a small village in the hills about 30 mile from Perula not far from La Manzanilla. On Monday, Bastian drove us to the vet. Our feeling was, that this vet was probably better at treating farm animals than pets. He thought Winston's hind muscles were enlarged and prescribed an anti-inflamatory. Tuesday, Winston looked a little better but by Wednesday we knew there were much deeper problems. By noon our fur kid could no longer support his rear end. He was dragging himself around by his front legs and his butt sliding on the ground. 2 o'clock found me in tears and us desperately trying to figure the best course of action. Tom was even contemplating flying us back to the States from P.V. Again, with Bastian and Eva's help, we drove and found a vet, this time in La Manzanilla about 35 mile away. At this point, we were having to carry Winston everywhere - not a simple task with a 50 pound dog. Dr. Rocio Tapia was a blessing. She was tending another dog, also owned by Americans, when we arrived. This lady told us that her dog had had similar symptoms to Winston once before. As Dr. Rocio checked Winston out, she took blood to do a quick analysis. It was definitely positive for something, possibly an infected tick bite (a little like Lyme Disease), and she immediately prescribed a strong antibiotic that he will take for a month. She also had us go to a lab in Melaque (10 mile furthe south) for X-Rays and said she wanted to see us the next day. Wednesday, X rays in hand, we met with her again. Unfortunately the lab that would test the rest of Winstons bodily fluids would not be open until Friday. Miraculously Winston was at least able to support himself but still could not get in or out of the RV without help. Friday found us back at Dr. Rocio's where she drew lots of Winston's blood, which we promptly refrigerated. After collecting the rest of Winston's bodily fluids for testing - a mexican family at the Pemex gas station watched me in amazement as I collected Winston's pee in a bowl - we headed for the lab in Melaque. Two hours later, blood findings in hand as the rest won't be available until Monday, we head back to La Manzanilla to the doctor. Things look alright but she wants to see the other tests before giving any further diagnosis. In the meantime, Winston is definitely getting stronger and we are left with another doctor visit on Monday. I am struck by the differences between the States and Mexico. In San Jose, Winston goes to Dr. Viera. When we go to the clinic everything is taken care of - blood is drawn, x-rays are taken, diagnosis is made all in one facility. Here, we visit the vet. We then go to an X-ray lab in another town which serves primarily people. Tom and Bastian hold and position Winston, neither are offered any protection. Blood vials are drawn but are handed back to us with instructions to refrigerate them, get them to the lab asap, wait for the results, oh, and don't forget to bring the vials back. This lab also primarily serves humans. But, these are inconveniences which we don't mind as long as Winston gets healthy. Tomorrow, will find us at the vet again and hopefully we can put all this behind us. Tomorrow I will tell you about the beach towns around here and a little more about Bastian and Eva.